Fibre link falls short of small communities
No tie-in means no gains, says Nahendeh MLA
April Hudson
Northern News Services
Thursday, June 11, 2015
DEH CHO
Smaller municipalities such as Jean Marie River that can't offer Internet service providers financial returns on fibre optic services likely will see no benefit from the Mackenzie Valley Fibre Link (MVFL) project the GNWT is pushing through the Deh Cho.
A trench excavator is used to lay the Mackenzie Valley Fibre Optic Link. Nahendeh MLA Kevin Menicoche says small communities such as Jean Marie River and Wrigley won't experience any benefits from the link. - photo courtesy of the GNWT Department of Finance
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In a statement delivered in the legislative assembly, Nahendeh MLA Kevin Menicoche said the government "often forgets its duty to think small," and characterized smaller communities in the NWT as an "afterthought" when the government plans projects.
"My colleagues across the floor sold this $80-some million project to me and other members partly on the benefit it would bring to the small communities along the route, such as Wrigley," Menicoche said.
"There were promises that a fibre optic line would serve those communities with faster and cheaper Internet, better service in health care and better learning in our schools. Yet even as this line is being dug into the ground in the Mackenzie Valley, the government has not publicly laid out its plan for small communities along the route."
Jean Marie River senior administrative officer (SAO) Mike Rudkin said it is a shame the community will not benefit from the line.
"As we are a small community, we rely on the Internet greatly to connect to the outside world," he said.
Rudkin, who has only been SAO for a month, said he was unsure whether Jean Marie River has approached the government to express its concerns. Ideally, he wants to see the line come into the community.
"It would make a big difference. Right now, the reliability of Internet is hit and miss, and it's very expensive here," he said. "We can't afford to keep paying high costs, but we have no choice because we need Internet to communicate with the outside world to do our day-to-day business. Being tied in would help us a lot."
Menicoche told Deh Cho Drum he recently found out the government plans to create outlets for the fibre optic line at small communities, but it would be up to an Internet service provider to tap into that and provide service to the community.
"The government doesn't want to step in and actually hook it up. That means Wrigley is not actually benefiting, or Tulita, or Jean Marie River. Yes, it's there - but the capability to use it is not," he said.
The fibre link is being used as a means to speed up data downloading for European Space Agency satellites that pass over Inuvik.
The project is being overseen by the Department of Finance.
Finance Minister Michael Miltenberger was unavailable for comment by press time, but a June 8 news release from the GNWT stated Miltenberger had joined a delegation travelling to Europe to promote the fibre link.
There, the delegation will meet with nine space agencies and organizations.
"As the MVFL moves toward scheduled completion in mid-2016, the next step is to start securing agreements with international clients looking to take advantage of this new state-of-the-art communications link," stated Miltenberger in the release.
The release did not address local concerns expressed by the communities.
To date, more than one-third of the 1,200-kilometre project has been completed.
Wrigley warms up to project
In April, Pehdzeh Ki Chief Tim Lennie pulled his support for the fibre link due to a breakdown in the Dehcho Process.
Since then, the Dehcho First Nations, the territorial and the federal government have resumed discussion of the deal.
Menicoche said at the time Pehdzeh Ki pulled its support, it did not see any benefits to the link. The trenching process to put the line in the ground is not labour intensive and the community did not think any local jobs would be created.
"Part of the land use plan is to do archaeological surveys, mine surveys, that sort of stuff. So now, the community has been offered some work in terms of environmental monitoring and assisting contractors," Menicoche said. "For a very small community, a little bit of investment goes a long way."
No spokesperson for Pehdzeh Ki responded to interview requests as of press time.
